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Sioux Falls

Mayor TenHaken Sioux Falls

City of Sioux Falls plans to spend double on capital plan then it did 9 years ago

l3wis 6Comments

This of course is NO surprise;

Mayor Paul TenHaken late last week released a plan to spend more than $1.1 billion on city capital improvement projects over the next five years. It’s the highest capital budget in city history, and the price tag is more than double the plan presented to City Council a decade prior.

While there has been a lot of talk about inflation over the past couple of years, in fact, since 2014 it is only up 28%. So how is it that the city has to double it’s capital budget in just 9 years?

One argument will be growth, but Sioux Falls has only grown by 37,000 people since 2014, so that doesn’t account for the spending.

OVERTAXATION AND FEES!

This is why the city is spending so much money, they are taking in to much. This city hasn’t missed an opportunity to raise fees and taxes every opportunity it gets. It has also rearranged a lot of capital projects with ARPA money freeing up 2nd penny money for other projects. This of course has also left of with an enormous reserve.

Anytime our Finance Director, Shawn Pritchett, comes to the mic and cries about how we can’t pass up fee and tax increases, all you have to do is look at this preposterous budget. Talk about feeding the beast.

Obviously, all of this will change again next year, it may get smaller, but I doubt it.

Bike Trail Downtown Sioux Falls SFPD Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls Police buy E2’s for bike cops

l3wis 12Comments

I saw the above bike DTSF this past weekend so I inquired about it from a city official. The city bought 2 but not sure what they paid (they retail on other sites for about $4K without all the whizz-bang cop extras). A bike in this class should run you about $2,500 without police sirens.

The bikes come in 750 or 1000 watt, the city chose the 750 which I would assume would give you a longer charge because you are using less power. I would have just went with the 1000 watt to have that extra power and bought backup batteries for the bikes so you have a spare charged, you can even rig bikes with dual batteries.

It is pretty obvious to me this company uses ‘bike cop’ mantra to sell these units, but they are really no different then a regular E2.

With all the sustainability boloney floating around you would have thought the city would have had a big presser about the bikes . . . oh that’s right, you look pretty foolish telling people they can’t ride their E2s on the trail when you are riding your E2 on the trail (for the record I have only seen the bike on the street).

David ZoKaites SF City Council SFPD Sioux Falls

Former Mayoral Candidate, David Zokaites files Claim against City of Sioux Falls

l3wis 7Comments

I was NOT at the meeting tonight, so the only copy I have is this screenshot from David presenting the claim to the city at public input (he is the last person to talk at the end of the meeting).

It sounds like a potential civil rights lawsuit. David did say he was ‘considering’ taking action, so he hasn’t filed an actual suit against the city, but notified them that he may.

From his testimony and presentation this is about how the SFPD treats people. Even if David sues and loses the case, at least the noise from the suit will let some sunshine into our police force.

I have heard rumors that since Chief Thum took over he has been trying to clean up the bad officers with some success, but he knows it is a Herculean task. Let’s just say that Thum is probably feeling more like a house cleaner then a police officer these days.

The SFPD has neglected properly training and reprimanding officers for decades and so now there is years of institutional bad habits that will probably take twice as long to remedy.

There is also a rumor circulating that several top officials with the SFPD and SFFD are walking out the door with the mayor in 2026. Some are scheduled retirements some are NOT.

If this is true, it will be a great learning opportunity for the new mayor new councilors in 2026, lets just hope they are all NEW and not USED.

*I corrected the year from 2024 to 2026.

WHO IS RUNNING IN THE MAYORAL RACE?

I’m a little surprised that I have NOT heard an announcement yet. The election is less then a year away and I was at least expecting one major announcement by now. And if you are running for an open seat, you would be wise to be the first to announce, because people will remember you because you will be the media darling for several days.

I wonder if one-term Jensen will run for mayor? I see that Pitty Patt put up a post about how Jensen is running for the legislature and NOT seeking a second term on the council. Nice smoke and mirrors. We all know you can’t run for mayor and city council at the same time. So Pitty, I call Bullsh!t on you!

Bike Trail Sioux Falls

This video says everything we need to know about riding in the street

l3wis 8Comments

Obviously this is NYC and the traffic can be a little congested, BUT, if you are South of 41st street during rush hour, the street traffic is actually worse then NYC because of people’s speeds. But he makes a good point, where is it safe to ride a bike?

REI is proposing a Federal E-Bike rebate program, which I support. Some have said that this is a waste but when you figure there are similar rebates for electric cars, this makes sense;

If 15% of today’s carbon-emitting car trips were made by electric bicycles (e-bikes), America’s carbon emissions would shrink by more than 11 percent.

That’s because in addition to providing safe and convenient ways to get from place to place, battery-powered e-bikes displace carbon emissions from vehicles and lower pollution levels. E-bikes are increasingly popular for people looking to commute to work, run errands, or enjoy the outdoors without needing a car. But we need to make sure more people – of all income levels – can access and enjoy this form of low-carbon transport.

The E-BIKE (Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment) Act would offer a 30 percent tax credit of up to $1500 on the purchase of new e-bikes. It’s time to build support for this exciting new bill that can make climate-friendly transport more affordable for everyone.

It has often amazed me that we don’t give tax credits to people who are trying to improve the environment but turn around and give people child tax credits (which are actually contributing to pollution). We should tax the HELL out of gasoline and turn those dollars into ways to help people commute sustainably.

And for the record, South Dakota gets over 80% of it’s electricity from renewables, so plugging in, in South Dakota is actually carbon friendly.

Ethics Greg Neitzert Open Government Open Meetings SF City Council Sioux Falls

UPDATE: Sioux Falls City Councilor Neitzert looking to change the city’s ethics ordinance

l3wis 20Comments

As suspected, this is ONE of the changes;

  • Reimbursed or paid expenses from a third party to the
    city may be accepted if ALL of the following
    requirements are met:
  • 1. The event is related to the official duties of the
    officer or city’s legislative or policy making role
    (Consistent with City Council Travel Policy)
  • 2. The event organizer is not a person, entity, or
    business who seeks or does business with the city
    or conducts activities regulated by the city or is a
    political party (nonprofits and other governmental units
    are NOT prohibited sources)
  • 3. All expenses are paid for or reimbursed by the
    event organizer (not a sponsor of the event)
  • 4. The event is a widely attended gathering and the
    agenda and any paid or reimbursed expenses are a
    matter of public record

I Still think it is dangerous territory to allow partisan groups to fund trips.

I was alerted to this recently but my foot soldier couldn’t tell me what the proposed changes were;

Ethics Ordinance Update by Greg Neitzert, Council Member

Like I said, I have no idea what he is proposing, but with his impeachment over a paid for partisan trip to Texas with Mayor TenHaken and his then Deputy COS, TJ Nelson, one has to wonder if they are re-writing the ordinance to make the sins of the past go away, which would allow partisan political groups to pay for trips of local elected officials.

If this is the proposal, I think it is dangerous territory. While I maintain that not only was Councilor Neitzert guilty of ethics violations, so was the mayor and Nelson. Partisan groups, left, right or center, should not be able to buy influence.

And while the recreation trail ordinances have languished for 5 years, this apparently is top priority . . . saving their own asses!

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